Spain into the Final of Euro 2008!

Sunday Night 22nd June

Tonight Spain played Italy in the quarter final of Euro 2008 in Vienna. I watched the game in a bar and outside was a crowd of people who decided the football was more important than the second night of the parade of people preparing for the Bonfire of St. Juan on Tuesday night.

Spain has a pretty ordinary record in big matches - always promising to do great things but often crashing in the finals. I think the spanish are quite used to this and don't seem to get their hopes up too high. Also, June 22 is their hoodoo day for soccer!

Record

Before tonight Spain had lost three quarter-final penalty shoot-outs on 22 June but they stopped the rot tonight, prevailing 4-2 on spot-kicks after 120 minutes had failed to produce a goal. It was the battle of the two great goal keepers, Gianluigi Buffon from Italy and Iker Casillas from Spain. In truth, the Spanish team team had enjoyed the better of the play on a humid night in Vienna, Marcos Senna coming closest when he was denied by the post in the closing stages of normal time. They continued to press in the additional half-hour, finishing plays on goal poorly before Casillas's heroics saw them through to a rematch with a Russia side (coached by 'our' Gus Hiddink) they defeated 4-1 in the group stage - this game is set for Thursday night.

Thursday 26th June
Spain plays Russia and dominates to win 3 - 0. This is the first time that Spain has made the final of a UEFA tournament since 1984 (they lost to France) and then you need to go back to 1964 for their last win of a major tournament.

I was in Granada when they beat Russia - everyone went to the Christopher Colombus fountain and threw themselves in and went generally beserk. I am in Seville for the final.